1909 – Clonmel Town is Quite Irate About Carrick’s Jibes at Her Death Rate

The Nationalist, 13 November 1909

Water. It seems like we’re always falling out over it. The year was 1909, and Clonmel had access to piped water, whilst Carrick on Suir did not. And that was the way one Carrick councillor wanted the situation to remain. In order to bolster his argument against the introduction of a waterworks scheme to the town he used the example of Clonmel’s death rate, one, he claimed, was amongst the highest in Ireland.

Except, it wasn’t. The Nationalist takes up the cudgel to defend Clonmel’s honour: